海角视频

More than 60 former employees of Clugston Group have now contacted specialist lawyers to bring forward a special claim to cover wages lost when they were made redundant.

The Scunthorpe construction giant collapsed early last month, with 150 staff immediately losing their jobs. A further 128 followed this week, with KPMG running the affairs.

A number of employees contacted specialist SDM Legal in the immediate aftermath of the bombshell that has rocked the construction sector and the northern Lincolnshire business community 鈥� where the three-generation Clugston operation has been a fixture for more than 80 years.

SDM had previously successfully handled claims for former employees of Monarch Airlines, BHS, City Link, Multi-York and Pulse Flexible Packaging.

Carl Moran, director at the Lancashire firm, set about seeking to recover eight weeks鈥� pay for each employee as compensation for the company鈥檚 failure to consult.

It is a Protective Award, covered by The Insolvency Service, with a case anticipated to be heard within six months.聽 A judgement would be passed to Secretary of State for Business, Andrea Leadsom.

Mr Moran, who described the collapse as a 鈥渄evastating event for its employees鈥� told how 鈥渕any will be worried about their rightful legal entitlements and I very much hope that the Protective Award we are claiming for them, which is compensation in addition to any redundancy payments, will make things easier for them.鈥�

He added: 鈥淲e currently have over 60 former employees but I anticipate that we will end up acting for over 100.鈥�

The award is capped at a maximum payment of 拢525 a week.

As reported, Clugston failed to recover from a loss in 2017, with administrators outlining how the 拢176 million turnover business had sunk further into the red through a number of large and complex energy from waste contracts, 鈥渁ccentuated by the insolvency of a key sub contractor鈥�.

On appointment of KPMG 150 of the 412 staff departed left, with 128 following this week. A total of 82 have been transferred to main construction contractor CNIM and other contractors who have subsequently taken on Clugston work.

It comes as it was revealed the 海角视频 construction sector 鈥渟harply鈥� declined last month 鈥� the worst seen in a decade according to the Markit/CIPS 海角视频 construction purchasing managers鈥� index (PMI). It reported its eighth consecutive month of decline in the sector.

Tim Moore, economics associate director at IHS Markit, said: 鈥淒ecember data suggested that the 海角视频 construction sector limped through the final quarter of 2019, with output falling in all three major categories of work.

鈥淏rexit uncertainty and spending delays ahead of the General Election were once again the most commonly cited factors highlighted by firms experiencing a drop in construction activity.鈥�

The monthly report also highlighted a 鈥渟harp drop鈥� in commercial work, which it said was 鈥減artly attributed to clients opting to postpone spending decisions ahead of the general election鈥�.

Housebuilding also declined for the seventh consecutive month, although the rate of decline was considered 鈥渕odest鈥�.

Construction companies said they saw a decline in new business for the month, but they also reported the softest decline in staffing numbers for four months.

Meanwhile, cost rises slowed down over the period, with the latest increase in overall purchasing costs the weakest recorded by the survey for almost 10 years.

Duncan Brock, group director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, said: 鈥淭he civil engineering sector was the biggest victim of this new wave of decline registering its sharpest fall since March 2009.

鈥淭he relatively resilient residential sector also continued its downward spiral although at a slower rate compared to the last six months offering some small moderation in the face of reduced overall activity.鈥�